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Thank Darkoz...
I guess the other question would be... Do you guys think it might be a problem if I hook the camera to constant power instead of the reverse light? that way the camera could be on all the time. I'm not saying I would really need it, but hey, it might be kinda nice to have it. Then, all I would need to do is hook the trigger wire to the reverse light's positive and I would trigger the camera whenever I go in reverse...

My camera is on whenever the key is on. I did not like the idea of powering off the reverse lights, so I took the trigger "ON" wire from the factory amp to turn on a relay which provides power to the camera. I then have taken the reverse signal from the wires leading into the trunk lid and ran that to my Dynavin. Doing this, my camera being on whenever key is on, I can manually go into "Camera" view from the main menu, and it also automatically goes into camera view when I go into reverse

I have a Boyo VT350 I think it was, fits into the rear key hole in the trunk lid. Although it fits very nice and is flush, it is somewhat useless in the sense that I can not really gauge how far I am to something as it's positioned to look straight back, versus down at an angle..........

Don't the keyhole cameras come with angle rings so you can adjust the angle of the camera?

My camera is on whenever the key is on. I did not like the idea of powering off the reverse lights, so I took the trigger "ON" wire from the factory amp to turn on a relay which provides power to the camera. I then have taken the reverse signal from the wires leading into the trunk lid and ran that to my Dynavin. Doing this, my camera being on whenever key is on, I can manually go into "Camera" view from the main menu, and it also automatically goes into camera view when I go into reverse

It's all very basic electronics stuff really.

Darn it! I was told by someone that this wouldn't work!!! Now I find out it does? Boooooo. But good job on the install.

Can someone explain where to pass the cables from the trunk towards the front of the car? I want to remove as few (clipped?) panels as possible. Would the RCA cable go from the side of the trunk, along the doors? Or from the trunk right to the center console area (from the middle part of the back seat)? Never ran any cables from the trunk of a car before, and I want to make sure I route the cables the easiest way possible. I tried a search on here but came up empty -- I'm thinking there must be DIY guides for trunk/amp installs or something that would explain, but I can't seem to find any =/

So you are not powering the camera off the reverse lamp wiring. Almost all electrical components should be powered by a dedicated fused relay vs direct power. I use a relay also so that I can remotely turn on my reverse camera even when I am driving forward as I have a switch and my reverse light as a signal to activate said relay to turn on camera. Doing this way, I can turn it on whenever I want and have it operate as a normal reverse camera, without having the camera on with ignition.

2 questions for you guys:
1- What's the 'connector cable' needed to hook up the green "REVERSE" signal off the back of the Dynavin directly to the fuse box, so that it activates the camera when the car is put in reverse? Going to take it in to a shop to get this part done, but want to have the right cable when I go. Need to know the connector on both ends (Dynavin side and the fuse box side)
2- Can anyone with an E46 SEDAN tell me how to pass the cable from the back seats to the trunk? I passed the cable along the side wall on the passenger side, but when I took off the grey trunk lining yesterday, I couldn't find a single hole where you can pass a cable from the back seat/cabin to the trunk. I know on a COUPE with fold-down seats, it's easy, but can't seem to find a way on my sedan.

2 questions for you guys:
1- What's the 'connector cable' needed to hook up the green "REVERSE" signal off the back of the Dynavin directly to the fuse box, so that it activates the camera when the car is put in reverse? Going to take it in to a shop to get this part done, but want to have the right cable when I go. Need to know the connector on both ends (Dynavin side and the fuse box side)
2- Can anyone with an E46 SEDAN tell me how to pass the cable from the back seats to the trunk? I passed the cable along the side wall on the passenger side, but when I took off the grey trunk lining yesterday, I couldn't find a single hole where you can pass a cable from the back seat/cabin to the trunk. I know on a COUPE with fold-down seats, it's easy, but can't seem to find a way on my sedan.

Thanks

U pulled only the panel against the seat then. Pull the side panel off on the side ur running cables thru and you will see factory wires coming thru a black foam gromet. There will be some on either side you chose. you will also need to pull the back seat to do this properly. Its really not as much to pull out as it sounds.

U pulled only the panel against the seat then. Pull the side panel off on the side ur running cables thru and you will see factory wires coming thru a black foam gromet. There will be some on either side you chose. you will also need to pull the back seat to do this properly. Its really not as much to pull out as it sounds.

At the very end of my try at it, I actually saw the bunch of cables leading into the trunk (from the rear seat edge on the driver's side of the car), as well as the foam covering that hole, but it seemed like there was no room to fit even the small RCA cable. I guess you're telling me there is? I guess I'll have to give it another shot! I didn't remove the back of the rear seats though -- didn't think that was possible?

Also, anyone else on the connectors for the reverse signal to the radio unit (Dynavin in my case)?

yes theres quit a bit of room. the foam flexes enough to allow plenty room. you can even pull the plug itself out easily and put back in. it has a cut from center to the edge in it so you dont have to pull the cable thru it. just run cable thru the hole and slide the foam over the cables again and put it back.

The back rest of the seat comes out by removing the center headrest and then pull at the top left corner and then right to pop a large clip on each side. You're basically done at this point and only need to pull upwards to remove the metal u-shaped tabs at the bottom from the metal brackets they sit in. obviously you need the bottom section out before any of this but I guess you noticed that when you had it out the first time.

Pretty sure thats how the removal went. its been almost a year since i done it last.

any chance you can share details on how to wire these things like yours? ( i mean i like your idea of always powering the camera on)

I am looking at doing this also. After reading through several threads the method I like the most, as mentioned above, is to...

5 pin 12v relay. ---> the power comes from the white wire that triggers the factory amp on. There is another pin that goes to the camera. Then you connect the trigger wire on the Dynavin or other unit (I believe its green bullet connector the dynavin to the rear tail lights to trigger the screen to automatically switch to the camera in reverse. And if i am correct, you can find the wire needed to trigger it in the black box above the fuse box in the glove compartment. I'm sure about pin on the relay will need to be grounded, however I'm not sure where is ideal...

Can anyone verify or add to this?

Thanks

Also, for the relay, look on www.partsexpress.com. They are good people and the prices are phenomenal.

I can draw up a hoaky wiring schematic later tonight, but I do not remember wire colors so you will have to decipher that yourself. Basically to do it the way I did it, you need:

wire length
5 pin relay
fuse
diode(important)
switch(so you can put it into camera mode while driving forward WITHOUT having the camera on with key on)

My video is a bit misleading as I took that video when I was in testing phase and the camera was powered with "key on" and stayed on whenever car was running. This proved to work, but I did not like the idea of having the camera on for so long plus in the cold, the camera would fog up a bit since it does put off heat when on. My current way, the reverse switch puts it into camera mode, so does a switch I have mounted in the center console. I do not use the "Camera" button in the main menu at all. To put the unit into camera mode while driving, I'm basically tricking it into thinking i'm in reverse. The whole switch/diode can be avoided if you are fine with having the camera on with "ignition on"